Today is first day of early voting!

Today is the first day to vote early in this year’s primary elections. Party representation on the ballots ranging from school board and townships offices to the state and federal level are up for election. Voters who want to cast their ballots before the formal primary election day, Tuesday, May 6, can do so on non-holiday weekdays and the last two Saturdays from today until May 6th. A few changes in the voting process have been instituted this voting season. One is a change of location, moving from the Curry Building to a couple blocks west at 401 West 7th Street. Linda Robbins, Monroe County Clerk and the person overseeing local voting, explains the reason for the move.

“The location’s changed but we really hope people come out and see us there and vote,” Robbins says.

Over the last few election cycles, the county has been under pressure to make the primary voting site, as well as all of the local regular voting locations, fully accessible to the physically impaired, as required by the 2002 Help America Vote Act. Receiving your ballot should also be a faster and smoother process.

“I think it will be much easier for people to come vote,” Robbins says, “We have a few new features, for example we can scan your driver’s license if that’s your form of ID and enter that. We also have new e-poll books that won’t change much for the voter, but anyone working the polls will notice a big change.”

The newly adopted E-poll books will also allow for immediate access to find out who and how many people have voted. Early voting will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, except for Good Friday, May 18, and Monday, May 5, the day before the May 6 regular voting day, when it will close at noon, as well as from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the two Saturdays before May 6. If you have any questions, you can phone the County Clerk’s office at 812-349-2071.